Boeing delivered the first airline 747-8 Intercontinental to launch customer Lufthansa on Wednesday. The two companies plan to celebrate the delivery May 1, with Lufthansa flying the airplane off to its base in Frankfurt, Germany, that day.

Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney first mentioned on Wednesday's earnings conference call that the company hoped to complete the delivery. Boeing confirmed delivery with a news release a few hours later.

"Lufthansa and Boeing have a long and proud history of working together to bring new innovations to the airline industry," Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in the release. "We are grateful for Lufthansa's inspiration and leadership in helping us design a new Queen of the Skies for the 21st Century, and I'm proud of what Boeing employees have accomplished by bringing this great airplane to Lufthansa and the world."

Christoph Franz, chairman of the Executive Board and chief executive officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: "After working together for many years, we are very pleased to have the newest generation of four-engine aircraft join our fleet."

Lufthansa plans to celebrate the airplane's arrival in Frankfurt on May 2.

The 747-8 Intercontinental is a stretched, updated version of the iconic 747. Boeing says it "will bring double-digit improvements in fuel burn and emissions over its predecessor, the 747-400, while generating 30 percent less noise."

Boeing earned $923 million, or $1.22 per share, in the first quarter, compared with $586 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding a gain from settling litigation, the company earned $1.11 per share, beating analysts' expectations of 96 cents.